Lincoln’s Inn

Lincoln’s Inn is the London institution where Thomas More studied law after leaving Oxford in 1499. In the account of his early life, it marks the move from university study to professional legal education.

Place in More’s Education

At about nineteen, More was sent by his patron, John Morton, to Canterbury College (Oxford), where he learned Greek. He left Oxford in 1499 to study law in London at Lincoln’s Inn. The account thus places Lincoln’s Inn after his classical education and identifies it as the setting for the next stage of his training.

Significance in the Narrative

Lincoln’s Inn is mentioned only in connection with More’s legal studies. The book gives no further description of its organization or activities; its significance here is the precise point at which More’s education turns from Greek learning at Oxford toward the law.